SUDAN: High level UN-AU delegation visits peacekeepers wounded in Darfur attacks

The head of the UN-AU mission to Darfur visits injured African Union soldiers at a hospital in Khartoum following the deadly attacks on their base two weeks ago. The head of the UN-AU mission to Darfur, Rodolphe Adada, has visited injured African Union soldiers at a hospital in Khartoum on Tuesday (October 9), after deadly attacks on their base in North Darfur. Growing tensions in the run-up to AU-U.N.-mediated peace talks in Libya exploded on September 29 when armed men in 30 vehicles descended upon an AU peacekeepers' base near Haskanita, destroying the base and killing 10 peacekeepers. AU officials had privately suspected breakaway rebel factions were behind the attack, the worst against AU forces in Darfur. Two of the injured soldiers are in critical but stable condition while the remaining five are out of danger and are recovering. Trooper Daramola Demola from Nigeria was among the survivors. He was working at the hospital in Haskanita when the base came under heavy attack. "I really thank God for sparing my life and the rest of the soldiers that was able to escape the attack. It wasn't an easy something and I don't think I can start telling the story because it was a life experience which is very, very barbaric. But all being equal I appreciate and I thank almighty God," Demola said. Rodolphe Adada said he was happy to see the soldiers recovering. "It was very unfortunate to have this incident in Haskanita, but they have been courageous enough to hold this place and this attack and so we will behave for the future, this is our duty," he said. Yesterday, officials reported that the fighting appeared to be spreading to Muhajeira, a town in South Darfur. Muhajeira is under the control of the Sudan's Liberation Army (SLA), the only Darfur rebel faction to sign a 2006 peace deal with Khartoum. "In Muhajeria we have our people there and we heard that there were some fighting between groups, we don't know exactly which groups and we have information that it was not a bombing, but they saw a plane surveying the place, but we are still waiting for a complete assessment of the information," said Adada. Fighting began in Sudan's western Darfur region when mostly non-Arab rebels took up arms accusing the government in Khartoum of neglect. The government responded by arming militias to put down the revolt. Since then some 200,000 people have died and 2.5 million have been driven from their homes. Poorly funded and badly equipped African Union peacekeepers sent in to stop the violence have been unable to do so.

ITN Source | October 11, 2007

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